Friday, February 8, 2013

Week 5

Heritage Language Learners, Family Language Practices and Identity
February 11th

A Step from Heaven by Ana
            I really enjoyed reading this book “A Step from Heaven” by Ana. It was such an eye opening experience of the struggles Young Ju and her family had to go to go through to assimilate, while still trying to keep their culture and who they are intact. Reading the book, a question that came up was what was Young Ju feeling while trying to manage her parents mandate about her identity and who she was (a Korean girl), but at the same time trying to understand and assimilate in a country they had to move to? Another question is, what was Young Ju greatest motivation of wanting to do her best and go to college, while she was struggling with her life and the impact it had on her? It was just very sad what Young Ju had to live and go through just to have that “American Dream” and a better life for her and her family. It was also such an inspirational story and how Young Ju never gave up trying to do her best in school. However, other children who have experience this type of hardship in school and additionally in their houses have gone towards another route of not wanting to prosper. Overall, this was a great story that relates to the struggles students have when they have different culture of an American and trying to be part of two different worlds.   

Korean-Immigrant Parents’ Support of Their American-Born Children’s Development and Maintenance of the Home Language
            Reading the article and seeing the extremity parents are doing to teach their children their native language it’s very intriguing. My question is how and what are their children feeling or thinking when they are going through this and trying to assimilate in two different cultures? The article also discussed about the parents wanting to implement in their children who they are and where they are coming from by enforcing to learn their native language. However, reflecting on their own teaching of their own language was it difficult for the parents to try to create this idea of bilingualism in their home, and what were they struggles trying to do this?  Overall, I believe that it is very important for students to try to keep and maintain their native language because it identifies their identity, in which it is very important, but just the extremities parents have to go through its so shocking.   

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